It’s a Good Thing I Don’t Live
in the Country with the ‘Best Medical Care’

Prayers for this writer

My wife would be dead if we still lived in Canada. My niece walks with a limp because it took a week to see a orthopedic surgeon after being run over by a horse.

So happy to hear that everything turned out well for Ms. Colon. You are never more appreciative of our health care system as when you have the opportunity to use it. There are flaws but, but it is the best care in the world. Ignorant politicians would destroy it for one vote. They are just evil. They spout all these promises that we can’t possibly afford without shame. It really is pathetic what these craven politicians will say and do to gain power. There is no “too low” for them.

The single most important feature of Medicare for All is that it will actually be Medicare for all except politicians. I'm a member of the Live With What You Pass Party.

"I'd be dead" That's the whole point of a single payer socialist health care system. The elderly and any opposition are declined healthcare as determined by so called death panels. If you are too fat, a smoker, a Republican or conservative your healthcare wait will be terminal. FTA "Medicare for all will eliminate private insurance and these moronic politicians also want to give illegal immigrants, who have no right being here to begin with, all the same benefits." My guess is that those " moronic politicians" in Congress would not be included in the single payer plan just like under obamacare so there would still be private insurance but only for the Socialist elites in Congress and the ultra rich. I'm also on Medicare and had all the exact same tests the writer had but my blockage in the same artery was only 30%. I don't want what Canada has or what Cuba has and certainly not what that idiot Sanders wants! Pray for the reelection of President Trump!

i am canadian now living i the us///if only people would know how bad the system is its ration ration..i took care of my dad in the hospital i cleaned his room i could see the dust under his bed siting down and watching him....i gave him water, i changed his diapers and while i was doing it the door was open and a nurse was walking in hall and saw me so he came in and said let me help yu they are rationing and cutting staff its a nightmare....my sister just died in feb....they dropped her in the operating room 6 stiches to her head and a broken arm...not enough people to lift her....she wighed 105 pounds...i could cry to hear medicare for all its a gov run gov offices all over the place in the er 8 hrs wait in the amubulance they do the triage and people die...utenesia is popular now and abortion i tell yu its a nightmare...it took 6 wks before my sister found out she had cancer the oncologist was on vacation...you wait and wait and wait 2 wks for blood test results...doctors are told how many patients to see monthly if quotas are more they do not get pay......socialism/communism ms warren and mr bernie aka communist bernie...vote trump folks he is your best for 4 years its and by the way the system in canada is for everyone including the politicians the judges etc....so congress is not teling yu they are hiding it from yu they in canada everyone the same.

For some reason, I don't think you or I would find ourselves rubbing shoulders with some lying politician in the local health clinic. In RealWorld, if they get their way, I'll sit and wait while they are treated as Royalty in the best hospitals in the land. That's known as a no brainer.

Love Alicia. You go, girl. Happy she is on the mend.

Thanks for posting, OP. Alicia lurks and sometimes posts here and has also given kudos to Lucianne.com in her articles. Continue to heal well, Alicia, and I will add you to my prayer list. God bless you!

I'm so old I can remember that every episode of the Benny Hill Show (1960s-70s) had at least one skit about how awful the health service was in Britain,

Without a doubt, we have the best medical care in the US. No waits, state of the art equipment, good coverage through private insurance. If we had a Canadian-style system, rich people would pay their own way to avoid waits or, if prohibited, go to another country for treatment where it was allowed. And I don’t see politicians giving up their Cadillac plans.

Define "free." In many other countries, "free health care" is not what you think. When I lived in Tokyo, I lost a friend because she was having a heart attack and the ambulance couldn't find a hospital that would accept patients who weren't Japanese. The reason: the patient "probably" couldn't speak Japanese. Never mind that in her condition, she couldn't speak at all. When my son lived in the UK, he needed a simple endoscopy. The first available appointment for that was in... 8 months. But his company provided "private insurance" so he could have it the next day. If single payer is passed here---those who can afford it will find a way to purchase "private insurance" but the government will have weaseled itself in to making our medical decisions for us. In Japan, the patient's FAMILY is required to bring the food and feed the patient. They also are in charge of keeping the room clean, including the bathroom and the floors. If an infection develops, it's YOUR fault, not the hospitals'. In Dusseldorf, the krankenhauses are overflowing with patients. The corridors are communal "rooms" but in reality are just like tent cities for the homeless. A portapot is wheeled around if someone needs it and you're supposed to hop off your gurney and do your thing in front of everyone. Many patients spend their entire hospital stay in Gurneyville. All of the politicians out there calling for "free health care" HAVE TO know the tradeoffs. Funny, isn't it, that nobody's discussing what we'd have to give up in exchange for "free health care." How do we know what to ask about--- if we don't know about it at all?

FTA: "...a 100% blockage of the lad artery (known as the widowmaker) ..." As my Cardiologist told me (paraphrasing), "They're all 'widowmakers.'" Amazingly, the tiniest capillary on the heart can grow into a major artery, and when the one on the back of my heart was totally blocked two more arteries formed to take over that duty. The body can heal itself, as long as we take it easy and not push it too hard. All he had to do was prescribe blood thinners for a few months, and all was back to normal. Thank God I reacted to the first sign of angina (something I'd never felt before) and went immediately to the Cardiologist. If you ever feel something you've never felt before, see a Doctor... preferably a specialist... or two. Yes, indeed, prayers for Alicia.

if you think taxes are high now wait till medicare for all is legal....taxes in canada is anything you buy you have an exit tax... 50% of your salary goes to the gov...taxes is not enough that is why they ration...toronto. montreal. quebec city very high taxes..it will be the same here nothing is for free trust me

no 5 read my response

A while back I was in a business venture with two other people, one of whom was Canadian. He used to brag that his health care was free and how much insurance cost us U.S. folks. But when it came time to split the proceeds from the sale of the venture, he argued that he should get a substantially larger cut than 1/3 because his taxes were much higher in Canada (we said no, of course). Then he got sick. Cancer. After waiting a couple of months in line for x-rays, then more time to get the x-rays analyzed, he found he had a tumor the size of a football in his abdomen. But he would have to wait more months to meet with a surgeon, who would develop a plan of treatment and maybe schedule an operating room. Result was it would take at least 6 months before any surgery would happen, and longer waits after that for chemo and/or radiation. Not willing to settle for that (and having some money) he went to M.D. Anderson in Houston. From the time he was first examined in Houston to the time surgery was performed was TWO DAYS. And plans for chemo and radiation were set shortly after - and carried out in Houston. After that, he was a true believer in our medical system. He says that the Canadian medical system is great - until you get sick.

Wonderful story. Actually Paul Lauterbur is considered the father of the MRI and he’s american. He and his British colleague Peter Mansfield were awarded the Nobel prize in 2003 for their work on the MRI. So the USA certainly deserves equal credit:-)

Politicians who would control our healthcare would, by definition, control our very lives. Many of them are chomping at the bit to do it because it would mean the absolute power that many of them crave. Congress was designed by our forefathers as a system of representation. The theory was that one person from a given area was to be the composite voice and choice-maker for all of his constituents. Consider what Congress does today for you and the trend of their actions, which are completely self-centered, selfish and do not consider you at all outside of the election period. They pay themselves an outrageous salary for doing little to nothing and can vote themselves a raise at any time. All essential life support expenses are free to them because they made those laws. They are above the law, Congress has the biggest percentage of criminals, tax cheats and morally-depraved people outside of hollywood and professional sports. They divert our money to friends and relatives as easily as you would pay the paper boy. All transportation and travel expenses are covered, no questions asked. Vacation to Puerto Rico and call it a meeting? No problem. The IRS requires you, the average citizen, to account for every friggin mile you put on your car and they decide what you've spent on business. Business meals? Sorry, you can only deduct half of what you really paid. Do you want these people to have the final word in your healthcare? Neither do I so this next election is more than an election, it is a matter of life and death and we should choose accordingly or prepare to lay down our lives to ensure that we have honest, legal government from now on. If we do not, our ancestors will never forgive us for blowing it while we still had the ability to change it.

I live in Buffalo, NY...we have 4 bridges in the area connecting to Canada .... I met 2 Border Patrol agents on separate occasions in the past few years and I asked them " Do you know how many Canadians come over here every week for medical treatment? "...without hesitation both replied with the same answer " We estimate about 3000/week." ...!!!! So...IF Canadian Health Care is soooo good...then why are people with "Free" health care going to a foreign country and PAYING for around 150,000 medical visits /year...??? ( I'm guessing Det-riot and other border towns have similar stats)

Among those who have praised the Canadian "system" is Donald J. Trump. On more than one occasion. Few really know our president's views.

The way for the Progressives/Democrats to win is for the good people of the United States to believe the MSM and not vote. Yes, pray and vote! Pray that the RNC will recruit and run solid Conservative candidates. Pray that P/Ds actual hatred of us "deplorables" becomes manifestly obvious to the point that the citizens of this country turn out to vote them out of office. If not, the P/Ds will turn this country into Venezuela.

Thanks Alicia. Blessings upon you. We need your force in our universe.